Hello Everybody, I am Matt

Hi everybody, my name is Matt I am 22 years old and I'm from the suburbs of Chicago.

About a month ago I started to notice the T in my right ear when I went to go to bed. Life has not been the same since then , I'm sure when most of you first realized your T, life wasn't the same either. First thing I did was get my earwax cleaned out, keep in mind this was about a week ago from today. Then I made an appointment with a recommended ENT. Went to his office and told him that I believe I have slight TMJ and tinnitus was getting worse. My hearing test passed pretty well with 1 minor glitch in the low tones he said, otherwise my hearing is good. So afterward he didn't really address my TMJ all that much but he told me to order Glinkgo Biloba and come back to him in a month. Pretty much what I expected , having already read alot about it online I knew ultimately that would be the end all treatment from the ENT.

just ordered the glinkgo today and that is where I stand.

how do I believe I got tinnitus?
2 years of wearing DJ headphones and listening to electronic music at medium/high levels for about 8-10 hours a day sometimes.

I believe that caused my tinnitus, I was unaware of how badly it was affecting my ears until I finally took them off and started to use speakers for about a week, then the tinnitus hit me really hard.

I guess it is my fault %100 for not having taken the headphones off for more than an entire week within that 2 years to actually realize that they were affecting me so badly.

so its been about 17 days with tinnitus, Ive been browsing tinnitustalk for that entire time, more than a few times a day I come on here and browse, and I feel for everybody on here that got it from a passing relative(stress/anxiety) or just from normal causes. unfortunately I believe I have paid dearly for wearing my headphones too much and maybe listening a bit too loud. T is a horrible thing to live with , mostly when you need your sleep.

well, thats me and the beginning of possibly a life with T.

once again I feel deeply sorry for the people who got it from a passing relative,natural causes, or from just having to work in a loud environment...and for that matter all the people that experience tinnitus , you are all in my prayers.

 

Hello @MattH- I am new here too and wish I could sleep too. Have you tried listening to white noise of your smartphone / Ipad / compjter? I have been listening to white noise on the ipad and iphone for past several days - it really helps. I also turn on the white noise and a fan at night to help. I hope you find lots of great information here and get some releif...

 

Matt,You will get some good advice on here.You have not had it too long so mabe it will pass hopefully.If it bothers you to the point you think you need help ,then do whatever you can to deal with the anxiety now.Mask it with masking sounds white noise ect.Don't blame yourself it's not your fault I'm a long time musician and thats what we do ,you probably have some hearing loss like me but tinnitus can be caused by many things .It is complex and deals more with our perception of the sound.You will learn more about it and how it gets better with time.But like I said give it a few weeks yours may go away on its own.If it don't you can find out alot on here.Dr. nagler and other drs. on here can help as we'll as other members and staff.Do protect your hearing but don't go in total silence as it will make T seem louder use some type of fan or masking at night to sleep. uncle vikin

 

Hi henrym! actually yes I have found this youtube video, its a shower running looped for 6 hours...really helps mask the tinnitus. Just getting used to sleeping on my back is the tough thing. No more ear against the pillow. I will link you the video in a private message if you want

thanks for the good advice

 

thank you for the support man, its great to see as I have been severely depressed since the T started, I'm getting more positive though, the fact I have only had it for 18 days now I can still hope that it will get better sometime soon. Maybe the glinkgo stuff can help me as well. I hear you on the fan at night, definitely a must have. I usually use my air purifier and a youtube video looped for 6 hours since my T started. Once again thanks for the welcome and support!

 

You'll get used to sleeping on your ear again, I know I have. When my T first started last summer any sleep I got was by sleeping on my back. Now I sleep very easily on my side ear to the pillow.

 

Hang in there Matt
It gets better .You will either habituate or it will go away. Just focus on controlling anxiety if you have some and know that the sound will not hurt you, even though its irritating as H. I know I've been there still going through it but it's getting alot better after 4 1/2 months I am sleeping better I took alot of sleep meds anxiety meds but I have weened off them and now just use melatonin sr over the counter supplement.Billie 48 is very helpful to those who are going through beginning stages of T.Just know everyone on this site has been or has gone through what you are going through. You will be alright .We will be alright. Uncle Vikin


Habituation is when you can hear it but it does not bother you so most of the time you don't notice it.I believe this is a close meaning.Ask or read dr naglers' post on the subject.

 

Hi @uncle vikin - my t started while I was still sick-it's been difficult getting used to it because I'm not sure if I'm 100% better-the doctors say I'm okay but my head is just so clouded and I just have anxiety all day I can't really go about my regular every day business like I used to-and I get very emotional as well. I am taking ambien for sleep now and was prescribed Zoloft but I am afraid to take it. What anxiety Meds did you use ?

Trying to hang in there.

 

That's GREAT! I'm glad to hear you're getting better with your T! I'm starting to sleep a little bit better each night I think..although some nights it seems like the T is louder , 18 days now I have been off nicotine as well..since the day my T started I dropped my vaporizer , as I read on the first night of my T that nicotine makes things temporarily worse. Also I'm trying everything I can to eat good and drink alot of water. I am also wondering now if I have an ETD possibly, my doctor didn't say much , but he gave me nasacort for my Eustachian tubes because I told him when I swallow that my ears pop. Maybe I have an ETD? seems that there is a cure for ETD on this sight as well

 

When I first got T it scared the H out of me.I knew it was something strange I just had that feeling so I went to a very we'll respected ENT clinic in Memphis called Shea Ear clinic .I had my ears checked and the test showed hearing loss . I have got right side ringing or hissing only .We'll thats the only ear that I can hear high freq. in cause 36 years ago I had my left ear damaged by fireworks.Henry anxiety goes with tinnitus I was told the same old story that I would have to live with it I was in a hotel 200 miles from home in Nashville and it tore me up, but I can tell you now after almost 5 months because there is relief after a while your brain habituates to T so hang on take care of your anxiety and don't let yourself think there is no hope because there is and you will get back to your old self again it takes time.
Baby steps.If your truly stressed like I was I took as little meds as possible but I did have to take xanax .5mg at night for about 10 days and klonipin .5mg twice a day for 4 weeks they tried to put me on anti depressants also but I would always come back off them slowly.I tried a script of ambien and lunesta (same as ambien but longer acting)did not like them as of now I am just eating really healthy ,taking a adrenal support extract ,wheatgrass, juicing but the thing I take to sleep is melatonin 3mg sr did not like it at first but I went back to it and it works great for me .I think it take time to get in your system.I mask at night only 2 fans each side of bed.Also got my white noise avail.Try to keep medium to low noise of some kind on during day TV radio ect. and try to protect my ears from loud sounds.Work with your doctor if you need something stronger then let him know.Just don't lean on the meds to strong just get through a few months and you will start to feel better after a while .Trust me I have been there alot of us have on this site .Ween off benzos through your doctor if you have to use them (SLOWLY).This is my opinion .There is a dr. on here Dr. Nagler he has been through tinnitus H.and back he is proof you don't and won't have to suffer from tinnitus .He was on the Matt Lauer show a few years ago.He gives the best decription of what is going on in the brain with tinnitus.Just google matt lauler dr nagler tinnitus and it will bring it up on videos. Look into TRT type treatments .In the end result you want to be drug free and back to normal meaning tinnitus won't bother you anymore it will be neutral.No meaning to you anymore but it will be there but you won't care. Take care .You will be alright .And for all those new to T, don't let the docs tell you to live with it cause you don't have too .There are treatments and you will learn it will get better.You can only learn this from people who have experience and have gone through it so learn all you can about how to treat T. You will be alright....... Uncle Vikin

 

welcome Matt
I'm in my start twenties too and got t from excessive use of iPod, and a fantastic amount of electronic music.
You are not alone! I recommend reading through the success section it gives a lot of hope cheers

 

@uncle vikin thank you uncle vikin. Great words, I will do all I can to habituate my T, I never ever sit in silence anymore, I always have some kind of ambient noise like water falling/water dripping if I am in a silent area. Sleeping is pretty rough still some night but its gotten WAY better. Last night I knocked out like a light compared to the last week of attempting to fall asleep. Keeping my fingers crossed that I can just fall asleep like that again tonight. Once again thank you uncle vikin, your words mean alot too me because I really dont have anybody to talk about this with. My mother doesn't understand how to comfort anybody really , I love her to death but she just doesn't know what to tell me. After hearing from other people with tinnitus and everyone that has written to me on this site I feel a lot better.

@Tenna Hi Tenna! I have a really big question to ask you since you also believe that your tinnitus has come from music as well. When did you start to realize that you had T? Did you take a break from the headphones and then it came on? or did it just come on one morning when you woke up? However it was, your answer would be really important to me, as I am still trying to diagnose my T. Will look forward to a short answer from you

Also my cousin was an air traffic controller and he was telling me that after he quit after all those years and was at home for about a week, the tinnitus hit him hard.He couldn't believe how loud the ringing was and all those years he had never heard it. His current situation with tinnitus, I quote "It comes and goes". Which I found to be slightly comforting, not exactly a success story but sure enough got me feeling a little less depressed about my T.

 

I'm not keen on the coming and going of T, when I have a couple of 'slightly quieter ' days, when it returns very loud I get down again. Somehow I seem unable to cope after a respite. Also, when it's down in volume a bit, my face/ear feel full, tingly and weird! Nerve damage I know, but unnerving all the same.

 

@MattH- Hiya Matt! I had been to a club 5 days prior to t onset, at the day of the onset I had listened to my iPod a lot and very loud with those awful standard earplugs. In the evening I started noticing what I thought was some charger sound, which was apparently coming from my left ear. It was in the evening after a long day at school. 4 days later a very high pitched t kicked in on both ears which is quite the pickle.
There's going to be a sea of young people like us who have been rewarded by our iPod and headset use, unless you got onto some oral steroids right at the onset, and have been checked by an ent, there is not much point in further diagnosing

 

It is sad the number of young people that come down with Tinnitus. I heard these Ipods can go as loud as 110db. On top of that kids wear the earbuds. I try telling these kids but unless it happens to them it is hard to understand. I also don't get these countries where people are shooting weapons all the time. They have to have tinnitus.
Work on habituating and always with in hope that in the future some Einstein will find releave for "T" suffers.
In my 9th month of a 3rd relapse. We will prevail.
god bless!

 

@Tenna Thank you for your response Tenna! I cant imagine what my 250ohm DJ headphones and sound card from a PC did too my ears if your got yours from just an ipod! I guess I am paying dearly for being such an idiot and listening to it louder than I should have..although I never really thought I was listening too loud. God damn shame that nobody told me what levels were safe and what were not, I would have never crossed that line.

@Ken219 Yes it is sad, I'm sure all my friends with double 15" sub woofers will eventually feel the wrath , maybe not. I have warned them recently that listening to their music in the car with extremely loud subs could damage their hearing, and that mine has taking a turn for the worst by just using some nice DJ headphones and a high quality sound card. Obviously they wont listen though. Hopefully someday someone can figure out how to cure the noise induced tinnitus or at least tone it down or something, for now I'll just read all the success stories and see what I can do for myself.